Movie review: The newest ‘Godzilla’ gets befuddled in flames and fury

Ed Symkus More Content Now

Tuesday

May 28, 2019 at 4:00 PM

If you like your movies big and loud, you can rest assured that they don’t come much more gargantuan or noisy than “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” If you like them dark - physically, not emotionally - this sequel to the 2014 “Godzilla” reboot has weather and debris difficulties that render visibility so impenetrable, it makes the infamous “Long Night” episode of “Game of Thrones” look like one of the Brady Bunch’s sunshine days.

The story begins five years after “Godzilla” ended, when San Francisco was in flames, and its buildings reduced to rubble. The big lizard, having vanquished the MUTO monsters, vanished into the ocean. But survivors of the events, and loved ones of those who were lost in it, haven’t gotten over it. There are bad dreams, bitter thoughts and, in the case of Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) at the mysterious MONARCH organization, a way to guarantee nothing like it can ever happen again. We’re not sure about the aspirations of other MONARCH employees - especially of its apparent leader Jonah Alan (Charles Dance). Is he a good guy or an “eco-terrorist?” But we’re positive that Dr. Russell’s ex-husband, the scientist Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), who used to work for MONARCH, now wants nothing to do with it. This serves as an emotional problem for young Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), the feisty, science-minded daughter of Emma and Mark, who lives with mom.

And so the complications and convolutions set in, and for two solid hours, they never stop, to the point where a lot of viewers are going to be confounded over who’s a hero and who’s a villain - that goes for people as well as Titans (the generic name for the myriad huge creatures, roaming, swimming through and flying over our world).

Let me take a moment to say that movies are extremely difficult to make. Special effects extravaganzas like this one have an additional level of challenges. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the director and some of the actors who gave their all to this film. They’re proud of it, they believe in it, the director knows what he’s doing, the actors have all delivered fine performances in past projects. But something just doesn’t click. The dialogue, when spoken, sounds clunky. The performances have very little sense of reality to them (and that’s a necessary component of any fantastical movie). The effects are good but, as mentioned up top, are often hard to see.

“Godzilla” King of the Monsters” attempts to fashion a story of scientists assisting monsters to “cleanse” the planet, which is supposed to allow the human race to begin anew, to do away with pollution and overpopulation and war ... or some such balderdash. There are suddenly Titans all over the world, wreaking havoc on various cities, apparently under the guidance of “King Ghidorah” (AKA, back in the ’60s, Gidrah the Three-Headed Monster), and only Godzilla, wherever he’s gone, can stop Ghidorah from directing Rodan and Mothra and a dozen or so others to keep wreaking.

There’s a device called an Orca that might be able to help, there’s a Japanese scientist, Dr. Serizawa - the character was in the 1954 film - (Ken Watanabe), who can help, there are squabbles between mom, dad, and daughter, along with disagreements between other scientists and military personnel about whether we should destroy or co-exist with the Titans. There are questions concerning which of them are malevolent and which are benevolent. And finally, there’s Godzilla entrance.

This could have been fun, but the script and the resulting movie are plodding and oh-so-serious. And then, hold on ... has Godzilla been killed in combat? No, wait ... I think he’s been jumpstarted with some extra nuclear energy and will be OK, might even be able to have a “symbiotic relationship with Mothra.”

One thing I’m positive about is that a climactic fight takes place in Boston ... in Fenway Park, no less! But the segment is too dark and chaotic, and I couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on.

Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.